How can I help my child lose weight?

Obesity and being overweight have been epidemic among American adults for years. Unfortunately, Americans are getting heavier at a younger age now. Many children as young as 4 years old are obese. It's never too late to lose weight, though. Here are some tips for both parents and children that will help your child lose weight:

Shopping tips for parents. This is the first step towards healthy eating at home. Remember, if you don't buy it, it can't be eaten.

1. Don't take the child with you on food shopping trips. Not only will this cut down on junk food purchases, you'll save money too.
2. If you do take kids grocery shopping, make the most of it by discussing healthy food choices as you shop. Teach kids how to read nutrition labels and how to comparison shop for prices. If you do buy candy, NEVER buy any at the checkout lane, so your child will get into the habit of passing up these impulse items without a tantrum.
3. Do your grocery shopping after a meal when you're not hungry.
4. Shop from a list -- no impulse buying.
5. Buy more low calorie foods.
6. Buy fewer high calorie foods in smaller quantities.

Pantry tips for parents:

1. Keep high calorie foods out of sight. Better yet, don't buy them at all.
2. Low calorie foods are kept in plain sight and are easily accessible.

Meal serving tips for parents:

1. Don't offer second helpings.
2. Don't even make second helpings. make just one portion per person of high calorie foods.
3. Put food on the plate in the kitchen, rather than serving the food "family style" at the table. This controls your child's portion sizes.
4. Don't say anything about "cleaning your plate."
5. Encourage conversation at meal times. This will slow down the rate of eating.
6. Put food on smaller dishes and glasses so they don't seem so small.

Miscellaneous tips for parents:

1. Don't use food as a reward or punishment.
2. Maintain a list of activities, privileges, and small rewards to reinforce your child and praise his/her efforts to change eating and exercise behaviors regularly.
3. Take lunch to school whenever possible. Discourage buying snacks at school -- these tend to be sodas, chips, and candy bars.

Meal time tips for children:

1. When you eat, eat only at the kitchen table.
2. Never eat while doing anything else, such as computer games, TV watching, etc.
3. Schedule meals and snacks ahead of time. No impulse eating!
4. When wanting to snack, have sugarless gum, a glass of water, or diet soda instead.
5. Don't take second helpings.
6. Put down the utensils and food between bites. This slows down how fast you eat.
7. Stop eating BEFORE you feel full.
8. Write down foods eaten every day in a diet diary. A week's worth of information can be valuable in assessing -- and changing -- eating patterns.

Exercise tips for children:

1. Exercise to burn 50 extra calories per day 3-4 times a week.
2. Consider buying a pedometer (about $15) and setting goals to exceed a certain hundred number of steps per day.
3. Write down exercise every day in an exercise diary.
4. Limit TV, video, and computer games to a maximum of one hour per day.
5. If you're having trouble limiting TV time, consider making the TV room a little less comfortable. Some families move the TV to a small, stuffy room to prevent overwatching. Other families have moved the TV couch out of the room so the only place to watch TV is sitting on the floor.

For further reading:

Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter. A nutritionist describes a structured eating program to help your child lose weight. Price: about $12.